Visiting Hours
by Cheshiremask
Summary: Things aren't always what they seem. Only the true masters of manipulation ever truly understand this. Rated T for mild violence.


((A/N: This is, essentially, a cleaned up version of an rp I participated with some time ago. I thought it might be appreciated, and thought that I'd share it. Please let me know what you think!))

* * *

Truthfully, it had been a mistake. But it had been a mistake that had saved his life.

Kristoph hadn't _meant_ to snap at the man, but he had been having a bad week, and the warden was _just_ a little too rough when he had reached for Kristoph's arm to drag him back to his cell. Of course, appearances were everything, so Kristoph had managed to keep his expression neutral, even after he had heard the snap of the man's bone breaking, and then his screams.

For whatever reason, the fact that he had kept squeezing until the prison medic had _asked_ him to let go made them consider him "mentally unstable", and so he had been transferred.

The Potts Asylum for the Criminally Insane was a nice place, clinically sterile and quiet, with lovely grounds. There was a portrait of the founder – the lovely Delia Potts, from before she "cracked", as the staff liked to say – hanging in the entranceway, and even Kristoph had to admit the whole place was very tasteful. He was even allowed his things – it was nice to have his suit back, for instance – and they told him that Klavier could come visit more often now, which they were sure would make him happy, although they said that he would still be carefully watched.

---------

It had been a shock. Klavier had actually hung up at first, thinking that someone was trying to play some kind of cruel prank. After the fourth time, though, Klavier started to believe the woman…even if it meant that his brother had been admitted to an Insane Asylum.

They had told him that he was allowed to visit, but Klavier had been putting it off for as long as he could. It was too hard to believe. His brother…_insane_? He'd never been able to explain why Kristoph would commit murder, but that option had never crossed his mind. They had grown up together…wouldn't he know…?

After the first week, Klavier decided that he had to see Kristoph.

He drove to the Potts Asylum, he even tried to hope that it was still just some kind of joke as he was escorted to his brother's room, but when he saw Kristoph sitting in a chair in front of the window, it felt like he'd been punched in the stomach.

"Kris…"

---------

"Why hello, brother," Kristoph said softly, turning to look at Klavier as the attendant left them alone. He had been staring out of the window like he assumed he ought to, considering the grounds. Klavier was standing at the door to his room, staring back with his hands stuffed into his pockets. He obviously didn't know what to do around someone who had been declared "mentally unstable".

"So?" He asked, staring at his brother's chin, obviously unwilling to make eye contact. "How is it?"

"I get to take walks now," Kristoph smiled pleasantly. "That's nice."

"Is the food better?"

"Bland, but not bad," Kristoph nodded, taking silent pleasure with how uncomfortable this was making his younger brother. Their prison visits had never been this forced.

Klavier fiddled with one of his belt loops, chewing on his lower lip anxiously. "You're looking better. I see you have your suit back."

"It's a very nice place," Kristoph let his tone turn a little dreamy, reaching down to pluck absently at his sleeve. "I'm happy to have it back."

He paused, turning back to the window and staring out at the trees.

"They say they're going to fix me, brother," He almost hummed the words, his smile still firmly in place. "Do you think they can?"

Klavier stared mutely at Kristoph's back for a long moment. He hadn't expected this…

"I hope they can," He said slowly, looking down at the hardwood floor. "I want my brother back."

"Did…did I go somewhere, brother?" Kristoph asked, furrowing his brows gently and continuing to stare out into the grounds as Klavier moved in a little closer to his chair. "I don't remember leaving. I suppose I _do_ need fixing."

"The brother I knew wasn't…" Klavier choked on the word "insane", swallowing nervously before he continued. "…Do you believe that?"

"Everyone here says I need fixing. There are a lot of them," Kristoph nodded slowly. "So many people can't be wrong, can they? Not all at once."

"What do you mean, 'fixing'?" Klavier asked, wincing a little as he imagined Kristoph strapped to a table and being submitted to electro-shock therapy…

"They said something about medicine. It tastes kind of bitter, but they say it will make me better." Kristoph had been careful to spit out the drugs as soon as he had found an opening...

"Are you getting better?" Klavier asked, put off by Kristoph's unwaveringly pleasant tone.

"I can't tell. I thought so for a while, but they said that I can't say," Kristoph shrugged slowly. "It makes me feel sleepy, though. I wonder if that's a good thing?"

Klavier shook his head; he didn't know anything about Kristoph's medications. "I suppose…I mean…the staff knows what they're doing."

Kristoph got to his feet slowly, careful not to stand as straight as he usually did.

"Can we go for a walk, brother?" He asked, sweetening his smile a little. "I like to go for walks."

"Yes, I'll take a walk," Klavier said, feeling sick. Kris was acting so strangely…had he already been like this? Could he just have missed it for all these years?

Kristoph smiled a little wider and headed for the door, the attendants would let them wander the grounds as much as they liked. It was _leaving_ that was the problem…

"The garden is lovely," he murmured, "all of the flowers are in bloom."

"Y-yes, they are." Klavier nodded, shifting his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably.

Kristoph led the way slowly. The patients were kept on the first floor – an understandable precaution – and the walk to the gardens from his room was somewhat short. After being stuck in prison for so long, Kristoph was genuinely happy to be able to go outside whenever he wanted. It was the only thing he didn't have to feign, and he let it show, just to put Klavier further off balance.

"I didn't know you liked being outside so much." Klavier said, watching him closely. "You always used to lock yourself up in your room."

"I love it when it's sunny, brother." He hummed, trailing a finger along the edge of a leaf. "The whole world looks so much more beautiful."

"I used to like the dark, but I didn't understand it as well then as I do now." He let his smile fade, his hand turning to cup the leaf in his palm.

"Understand what?" Klavier asked, keeping a careful distance from his brother.

"It was very dark for a while. All of that concrete. Not a plant in sight." Kristoph moved his hand away from the hedge slowly. "Do you remember how small my window was?"

Klavier nodded. "But you had books."

Kristoph turned just quickly enough to finally catch his brother's eyes with his own, letting his smile come back at full force. "Yes. I like books."

"Do you still read?" Klavier asked, trying to suppress a shiver.

"I like to read, but sometimes I can't focus like I used to." Kristoph walked over to another bush, admiring the roses.

"But nothing has changed since prison. Unless it's the medication, you should still be able to read." Klavier responded, still keeping a distance as he followed.

"It must be the pills." Kristoph nodded slowly. "But when they fix me, I'll be able to read all I want. That's good."

"I'm glad…that you're taking the pills, Kristoph. They'll help." Klavier gave a strained smile, trying to hide the trepidation in his eyes.

"You want me to take the pills too?" Kristoph looked back at Klavier, his eyes a little wider. "Then I'm glad. I want to make you happy, brother."

"Wait." Klavier said, toying with the ring on his thumb while still looking in Kristoph's general direction. "You're only taking them because other people want you to? Don't you want to get better?"

"I don't like taking pills, brother. They taste bitter, and I can't focus." Kristoph sighed, taking a seat on one of the stone benches that sat to one side of the path.

"But they're supposed to help." Klavier walked over to him slowly, continuing to stand.

"I don't like feeling sleepy all of the time." He said, leaning back a little to look up at the clouds.

"When you get better, you won't be tired."

Kristoph let out another sigh, distracting himself with a particular cloud's progress across the sky and letting his jaw fall a little slack. Just enough for his lips to part silently.

"You will get better, Kris. Just do as they say." Klavier said, moving forward a little.

"Hm?" Kristoph didn't move, pretending he hadn't heard.

"Just…take the pills and do whatever they ask."

Kristoph finally moved, looking at Klavier with what he hoped was a good imitation of the slavish devotion that Apollo had once shown him. "Okay."

"Why are you acting like this?" Klavier shouted suddenly. "You didn't act like this before so why start now?" He added, much more quietly – as though he had startled himself – but his tone was still hostile.

"I want you to be happy, brother. I want to be fixed for you." Kristoph dropped his eyes to the grass, bringing a hand up to touch his forehead. "I feel strange."

"What do you mean, 'strange'?"

"Happy. But at the same time not." He shook his head slowly, closing his eyes a little. "Like I don't care what happens around me. Like I don't care what happens to me."

"But you're still taking the medication, right?" Klavier asked, coming a little closer.

"Mm hm."

"Then it will stop when you get better."

"I'm going to get better, right brother?" Kristoph sighed, his shoulders sagging a little.

Klavier nodded. "Yes. I know you weren't always like this, so it's something they can fix."

"Sometimes I can hear Father's music. Is that a bad thing?" Kristoph asked quietly, staring at the ground again.

"Stop it." Klavier hissed, beginning to lose his temper. "You weren't like this before, so just _quit it_." His brother had never been like this before, he was almost sure.

"I'm sorry." Kristoph buried his face in his hands, hiding the smile that he couldn't keep from showing on his face.

Klavier wanted to pull Kristoph's head out of his hands, but something in the back of his mind was stopping him. He'd never felt that Kristoph was insane…maybe this was just a side effect of the pills. "Look at me."

Kristoph mastered himself quickly. The look he turned on Klavier was blank, but contrite.

"Stop it!" Klavier hissed through his teeth. "This isn't you, Kris!"

"What did I do, brother?" Kristoph asked, his voice almost pleading. "Why are you angry?"

Klavier hugged his arms tightly to his chest, trying to stop himself from grabbing his brother. "You're putting on this…this charade! You didn't act like this in prison, so please…quit it!"

"I don't understand, brother…" Kristoph frowned sadly. "You didn't like me then either…"

Klavier shook his head in disbelief. "You're doing this on purpose!"

Kristoph was careful to keep his expression blank, wondering how far his brother would go to try to prove his assertion.

Klavier took a deep breath and exhaled through his nostrils. "Kris, you're acting more insane while you're in here. That's not supposed to happen!" He scratched his fingernails on the palm of his hand, trying to relieve the anger he felt building up inside of him.

"I'm sorry."

"No, you're not!"

Kristoph knitted his brows again, looking past Klavier. "I'm…not?"

"You haven't been sorry in the past for something as simple and stupid as how you're acting, and you weren't sorry for…for _murdering_ those people! There is no reason for you to start now." He muttered vehemently.

"But…but you all say that I should be." Kristoph let his shoulders relax a little further. "And I will be, if I should."

"But you're not. You're never sorry."

"Don't you want me to be sorry, brother?" Kristoph sighed, resting his head against the arm of the bench. "Aren't I supposed to be?"

"Yes, I want you to be sorry, Kristoph." Klavier flared his nostrils. "I don't want you to pretend that you're sorry."

"I'm not pretending. I just want to make you happy." He sighed, closing his eyes. "I don't feel much anymore. Just tired."

Klavier walked over to Kristoph, coming the closest they'd been the entire visit, and yanked on Kristoph's collar, bringing their noses mere inches apart. "Stop it. _Now_."

Kristoph stared blankly back into Klavier's eyes. He was good enough to bluff this too. He couldn't have gotten this far if he wasn't.

Klavier shook the man, trying to get a hint of emotion, _anything_. "You can feel, brother. I know you can."

Kristoph just smiled the calm smile that had landed him at the Asylum. "Okay."

Klavier used his free hand and pulled harshly on the long curl of Kristoph's hair. "You're going to let me do this?" He asked, staring at that smile, that goddamned smile Kristoph insisted on wearing. "_You_? Kristoph Gavin?"

Kristoph had wondered how long it would take his brother to resort to physical abuse. Klavier had lasted longer than he had thought. He squeezed his eyes shut at the pain, but didn't make any noise.

"Can't you even feel pain?" Klavier shouted, his voice sounding a little desperate.

"Yes. But it doesn't matter." He replied evenly, smiling again.

Klavier yanked again, tightening his grip on the collar. "Yes it does! React! Do _something_!" He said, trying not to raise his voice.

Kristoph could feel a few of his hairs tear out of his scalp, but kept his eyes open this time, not resisting against the tug. It meant that his head was at a bit of an odd angle, but he just took the opportunity to watch another cloud.

"Kristoph!"

"Yes, brother?" He just moved his eyes, not changing the awkward angle of his neck.

Klavier let go, pushing Kristoph back down onto the bench. "I've told you already, I want you to feel. I want you to respond. I want you to retaliate, damn it! _I want my brother back!_"

Kristoph collapsed back against the bench with a thud. The impact hurt, but it didn't matter. Klavier was starting to lose control, and that was the _point_.

"How?" He asked, righting himself slowly and noticing that his hair was almost completely undone. "What do you want me to do?"

"You can figure it out yourself!" Klavier snarled. "You're not stupid!"

"I'm tired. Can I go back to my room?" Kristoph asked, his expression still neutral as some of his hair fell in front of his face.

"Don't change the subject!" Klavier said, trembling at this point.

"Okay." Kristoph reached up to toy with a strand of his hair. "Do you want me to be angry? I don't know if I can."

"I know you can! You were able to break someone's _wrist_ because you were angry, or do you need a little more incentive, _brother_?" With that, he spat in his brother's face.

Kristoph reached up to touch the wetness on his cheek, smearing Klavier's spit onto his fingers and looking at it like he didn't recognize it. "Is it raining?"

Klavier started laughing mirthlessly. "You're just going to sit here, and be humiliated like this, brother?" He tried to muffle his laughter with the palm of his hand. "Nothing is wrong with you, yet you continue this little act of yours? Do you think you're being smart?" His fingernails began to dig into his skin. "How long do you plan to keep this up?"

"Until I'm better." Kristoph just smiled. He would always just smile. It was easier than hiding his happiness. That was his real strength. This made him _happy_.

"Until you're better." Klavier said in disbelief. He pulled his hand off of his face, leaving scratches where his nails touched. "Until…you're better." He repeated, quivering. In a flash of rage, he slapped Kristoph across the face, knocking his glasses to the ground.

Kristoph slumped against the arm of the bench, watching his glasses bounce away before straightening up a bit. He could taste blood on his bottom lip from where the slap had split it. He was still smiling when he turned back to look at Klavier, feeling the warm blood drip down his chin.

"Quit smiling!"

"I can't. I'm happy." Kristoph replied, his first honest response. It sounded insane enough to let go, and Klavier was definitely not in the mood to hear it.

"What do you have to be so fucking happy about? You're in an _asylum_ for god's sake, and a little more than a year ago you were running your own law office! How the _hell_ can you be '_happy_'?" He had to keep his voice as quiet as he possibly could, he couldn't let the staff interfere, not now.

"I'm happy that you came today."

"_Quit lying_."

"I'm not lying. I missed you." Kristoph's smile softened a little. He _had_ missed Klavier. His outbursts, his anger, his sorrow…he had missed it all.

"I missed my brother." Klavier responded simply. "You're a mess." He said, staring at the man in contempt.

"My hair's come undone." Kristoph replied, nodding. "I'm usually neater."

"You're bleeding."

"Oh." Kristoph reached up, rubbing his lip with his thumb and looking at the blood.

"How can you let this happen to you?"

He licked the blood off of his finger, continuing to blot at the split with his hand. "Let what happen?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"You're my brother." Kristoph smiled again, holding the back of his hand against his lip for a second. "I won't tell."

"I hate you." Klavier said, shaking. "How could you let yourself fall so low?"

"You pushed me, brother." Kristoph answered, smiling like he was remembering fondly. "I didn't fall."

Klavier wiped a spot of blood off of one of his rings. "I had no choice."

"Okay." Kristoph watched, his smile widening a little as he realized that Klavier's shirt would never show the bloodstain. But Klavier would know it was there.

"_Okay_." He responded, mocking Kristoph. It was infuriating, he didn't understand.

Kristoph brushed a little of his hair behind his ear. The sheer amount of enjoyment he was getting from this…it had to be criminal.

"Stop being so calm!" Klavier shouted. "Where's the man who screamed out 'Wright' when he first found out the trial was under the jurist system? Kristoph!"

"That doesn't matter anymore." Kristoph gave a little one-shouldered shrug. He had no more reputation to lose, no more firm to uphold. His sanity was forfeit. This was all a game.

"If nothing matters anymore, then why don't you try to make amends? Why don't you at least say you're sorry? Do you want to rot away here?"

"But I said that I was sorry, brother. You said that I'm not." Kristoph tilted his head to one side, staring at one of Klavier's shirt buttons.

"That's not what I meant. I didn't mean just recite the words like a parrot, I want you to actually mean it, Kris." Klavier tried to keep himself as calm as he could, but was failing.

"But what if I don't mean it, brother?" Kristoph asked, looking back up at Klavier's face and smiling.

Klavier hit him again, feeling his ring scrape against the bridge of Kristoph's nose. "Look for it. Any human being would feel some remorse. You killed two people, both of them leaving behind a daughter, and no one else to turn to. How can you not feel anything?"

Kristoph stayed sitting upright through this hit, but his head snapped to one side. "I don't know."

"Two girls, even! Both of them didn't have mothers! And yet you just _killed _them! You even planned to kill Vera as well, and she _trusted_ you! And you're not sorry?" He hit Kristoph again, feeling his blows weaken. "What's _wrong_ with you?"

"I don't know." Kristoph brushed his hair back from his face. He left the strands that stuck to the blood dripping from his cuts, still just smiling as he wondered how far Klavier would go.

Klavier looked at his blood-flecked hands. "I hate you." He repeated, feeling tears fall down his cheek.

Kristoph stood up slowly and stepped forwards, catching Klavier in an embrace before he could react. "Thank you for coming to visit me, brother. You make me very happy."

Klavier tried to push him off, but he couldn't find it in himself. "I hate you so much." He said weakly.

"I won't tell. I promise. I'm sorry I fell down." Kristoph smiled into Klavier's shoulder, careful not to get any blood on his jacket. "I'll be more careful."

"I hate you. I hate you. I hate you." Klavier kept repeating the words like a mantra, wanting to force himself to believe them.

"Maybe, if you tell them when you're going to visit next time, I won't have to take the pills before I see you." Kristoph squeezed Klavier gently, as though he was reassuring him. "You'd like that, right?"

"I just want Kris back." Klavier wiped his hand against his eye, leaving a light trail of red. "I want my brother. Not you."

"I'm not your brother?" Kristoph asked, pulling back slightly.

"No. My brother was the one who cared about the truth. My brother was the one who cared for me back home. My brother was the one I looked up to. _Ich hasse dich._" He hissed the words through clenched teeth.

"Okay. Thank you for visiting me anyways, sir." Kristoph said, stepping back with a little bow. "It was nice to see someone. I don't get many visits."

With that, Kristoph turned and started ambling back towards the building, humming a little to himself as he walked.


End file.
